ProShares, a premier provider of ETFs, today launched the first S&P 500 Bond ETF. The ProShares S&P 500 Bond ETF (NYSE:SPXB) tracks the S&P 500®/MarketAxess® Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index.

“The S&P 500® served as the basis for the first ETF over 25 years ago. Today’s launch of a bond ETF tied to the S&P 500 is another important moment in the evolution of ETFs,” said Michael Sapir, co-founder and CEO of ProShare Advisors, LLC, the advisor to ProShares. “We believe SPXB will be an attractive option to investors considering bond ETFs. SPXB offers the most liquid, high quality bonds issued by companies in the S&P 500, the widely known and most-used securities benchmark.”

Broad market trends have been supporting a shift toward bond ETFs. While allocations to mutual funds and individual bonds remain high, trends like investors’ demand for transparency, advisors’ need for scalability and efficiency, and a general fee consciousness have contributed to a 10-year compound annual growth rate of 31% in bond ETF assets. SPXB is well positioned to help investors embrace the shift from individual bonds and mutual funds to bond ETFs.

“The S&P 500/MarketAxess Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index is a new way to measure the U.S. investment grade corporate bond market,” said Jason Giordano, Director, Fixed Income Product Management at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The companies represented in the index, constituents from the iconic S&P 500, are typically well capitalized and their bonds historically trade more frequently than the broader U.S. corporate bond landscape. We are pleased to license the index to ProShares.”

About the Index

Out of the nearly 5,000 investment grade quality bonds issued by S&P 500 companies, the S&P 500/MarketAxess Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index selects up to 1,000 of the most liquid bonds. To be eligible for the index, bonds must be investment grade credit quality U.S. issues. Bonds with a maturity at first issuance under 2 ½ years or a par value of less than $750 million are excluded. Those that meet the criteria are then ranked by liquidity (as measured by each bond’s 60-day trading day average volume as reported by TRACE) in descending order.

About ProShares

ProShares has been at the forefront of the ETF revolution since 2006. ProShares now offers one of the largest lineups of ETFs, with more than $30 billion in assets. The company is the leader in strategies such as dividend growth, alternative and geared (leveraged and inverse). ProShares continues to innovate with products that provide strategic and tactical opportunities for investors to manage risk and enhance returns.

May 3, 2018

Disclosure:

ProShares is the leader in dividend growth, alternative and geared (leveraged and inverse) strategies. Source: ProShares and Strategic Insight, based on number of funds and/or assets, as of 12/31/17.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. This ProShares ETF entails certain risks, including imperfect benchmark correlation and market price variance that may decrease performance. The fund invests in investment grade bonds. Bonds will decrease in value as interest rates rise. The fund concentrates its investments in certain sectors. Narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. Please see summary and full prospectuses for a more complete description of risks. There is no guarantee any ProShares ETF will achieve its investment objective.

Shares of these funds are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of ProShares before investing. This and other information can be found in their summary and full prospectuses. Read them carefully before investing. Obtain them from your financial advisor or broker-dealer representative or visit ProShares.com.

The “S&P 500®/MarketAxess® Investment Grade Corporate Bonds Index” and related trademarks have been licensed for use by ProShares. “S&P®” is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and “Dow Jones®” is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”) and they have been licensed for use by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“SPDJI”) and its affiliates. ProShares have not been passed on by SPDJI and its affiliates as to their legality or suitability. ProShares based on the S&P 500/MarketAxess Investment Grade Corporate Bonds Index are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P or their respective affiliates and third party licensors, and they make no representation regarding the advisability of investing in ProShares. THESE ENTITIES AND THEIR AFFILIATES AND THIRD PARTY LICENSORS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO PROSHARES.

The S&P Index(es) (the “Index(es)”) underlying the product provider’s (the “Issuer”) investment products (the “Investment Products”) are proprietary to S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P DJI”). S&P® and the names identifying the Index(es) are trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and have been licensed for use by S&P DJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the Issuer. The Issuer’s Investment Products based on the Index(es) are not in any way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P DJI, its affiliates or licensors and those parties make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Investment Products particularly or the ability of the Index(es) to track general market performance.

ProShares are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated with the fund’s advisor. ©2018 PSA PR-2018-2919

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